My Bio and This Blog's Purpose

Friday, November 28, 2014

As it now turns out, that former "executive" of Corridor Capital had no connections to the company and was a saboteur. Indiana has a lot of eggs on its face for its role in sabotaging CorrCap's efforts to operate the Hoosier State. As far as Amtrak goes, this is more evidence that it is trying to pulla Herzog with the Hoosier State.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Everybody seems to have an opinion on the November Trains Magazine article but the M.O. from various message boards have painted columnist Don Phillips as "bitter" because the Amtrak president wouldn't grant him an interview.
But the facts are this:

Joseph Boardman has done very little to advance the long distance trains. During a 2011 congressional hearing, he threwthose routes under the proverbial bus (no pun intended).

Instead of embracing a bill to relieve Amtrak of its biggest albatross, he "rallied the troops" by denouncing a plan to transfer the Northeast Corridor from Amtrak to another government entity as "privatization." Over three years later, Boardman's now whining about how the Hudson River Tunnels only have 20 years left when he could have easily embraced Jayanti's proposal.

None of the recommendations as mandated by PRIIA to improve long distance trains have been followed. This shouldn't have happened, especially with someone of Brian Rosenwald's stature trying to follow the '08 law.

Boardman's unwillingness to call the host railroads' bluff was way beyond disturbing. Seven hundred fifty million dollars to operate a daily Sunset Limited? Stalled negotiations with CSX over a daily Cardinal? "Never mind" seemed to be Boardman's M.O. A true leader would have been front and center, and had that failed, I would have then taken my case to the STB.

Sure he ordered new equipment for the eastern long distance trains, but what about their western counterparts?

A true leader would have never allowed himself to be caught flat-footed the way Boardman was in 2009 when European and Asian operators--public and private--openly expressed interest to operate high speed trains here.

As a followup, where were Amtrak's expansion plans when other operators began expressing interest in running trains during Stimulus Mania and in 2011 when a group representing Amtrak's commuter competitors was formed to take on "America's Railroad?" The feasibility studies for three long distance routes and the stillborn 3C corridor service were all examples of Amtrak management discouraging restoring or implementing service.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

The news just gets weirder and weirder out of Indiana

Earlier this month, the INDOT canceled its contract with Corridor Capital without any explanation. The second thing that happened was that Corridor Capital responded to the termination by more or less making Indiana look incompetent.Then, INDOT talked to runner up Iowa Pacific about taking over the Hoosier State. Now, a former executive of Corridor Capital says that the contractor was unprepared and didn't receive any support from its investors.Take: At this point, I just don't know what to think. The fact that Indiana doesn't want added amenities is beyond puzzling. Perhaps, this wouldn't have happened if Iowa Pacific been awarded the contract from the beginning. This should be a lesson for Corridor Capital to be better prepared next time.

Mexican HSR deal is canceled

While the rail community was caught up over the Hoosier State debacle and the midterm elections, the Mexican government canceled a high speed rail contract with a Chinese consortium when it was discovered that the person leading the group gave the Mexican president a mansion.Take: Corruption knows no boundaries. Chalk this one as a blown opportunity for reviving passenger rail in Mexico.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Florida

Part 1

Only in the Sunshine State can up be down. Over the summer, Rachel Dovey and Fred Frailey talked about how backwards the rail picture was in the state--the Tea Party-backed incumbent governor Rick Scott backing the private All Aboard Florida against ex-governor Charlie Crist who clearly prefers the high speed project Scott scuttled.Other actors in the AAF saga are Treasure Coast residents and politicians who have exhibited a nasty form of NIMBYism. It's like these people have never seen a train before. They chose to live near an area where a major railroad frequently runs trains so it's ridiculous for them to make all of those demands. I can't help but wonder if these residents are actually upset that after 14 years of unfulfilled promises Amtrak is still nowhere close to implementing East Coast service between Jacksonville and Miami. If Treasure Coast residents want someone to blame, they should be pointing the finger at the feds for not funding the route during stimulus mania. These alleged problems would have never come up if Amtrak were already running trains through the area.

Part 2

Now that Scott has been elected to a second term, All Aboard Florida should all but be in the clear to proceed so Treasure Coast residents need to get over themselves. It really is strange that the same governor who relied on a highly biased study to finish off an HSR project that operators like Virgin were ready to run could go down in history as the guy who restored Florida's status as a major passenger rail hub--albeit accidentally. As for Crist, it would have been next to impossible for him to have revived the Florida High Speed Rail route just due to the fact that he would've at best dealt with a House of Representatives who has zeroed out federal HSR funding ever since it flipped to the GOP four years ago. His adversarial stance towards AAF demonstrates the overall problem I have with most Democrats. The TC residents' resistance to private sector operators hurts passenger rail (a Metro Jacksonville moderator hit the nail on the head).The biggest thing missing over the "which train project is better" debate is the fact that neither Crist nor Scott showed any interest in corridor service along existing routes. The way to have a robust system is to work with what you have. The infrastructure is in place so foresight and selecting operators committed to producing world class service are the only things needed.

Midwest

The only way passenger rail is going to advance in the Buckeye State is for communities and advocacy groups to continue taking the lead since John Kasich is guaranteed to leave Columbus in 2019. Given the recent fiasco in Indiana over the operation of the Hoosier State, I hope that All Aboard Ohio and other groups have enough foresight to talk to other operators about the Hoosier Extension and the Columbus-Chicago routes especially if Amtrak's a no-go.Mark Dayton and Scott Walker won their reelection campaigns as well but by single digits. Dayton's DOT will continue picking up the whole price tab for not only the feasibility studies of a second Chicago-St. Paul frequency but when the trains actually operate. When it comes to the new equipment for the Midwestern trains, IL and MI will get their share and give WI leftovers. If anything, the Hiawathas will consist mostly of leftover Horizon Cars. Any Badger State resident hoping for rail service off of the Chicago-Milwaukee-La Crosse-St. Paul route had better pray that Ed Ellis not only turns the Varsity into a regular route but expands his shortline empire.

North Carolina

In Wake County, Democrats turned a 3-4 disadvantage on the Board of Commissioners into a 7-0 board. These results will make having a referendum on light rail easier. The trick will be convincing the voters to join its northwestern neighbors.

National Outlook

Barring a 2006-like backlash against right wing rule in D.C., HSR won't be getting a dime until 2023 at the earliest. Even though anti-HSR Californians will hold some powerful positions in the House and continue making life miserable for the CAHSR project, the nation's only Express HSR project to be funded with stimulus funds will rely on state and private sector financing until it begins service.Amtrak will likely see its funding slashed--maybe even significantly--but the real question is whether the new Congress will allow real competition, which would be the national operator's primary threat. With both houses soon to be in the opposition's hands, the Grand Bargain should be front and center as the alternative to the now-myopic national HSR vision President Obama laid out 5 1/2 years ago. Noel Braymer's editorial on how Republicans are the only ones who can save the long distance trains may very well be tested now. In order to prove Amtrak's advocates wrong, the GOP should implement any one of the three suggestions Braymer laid out. Second, congressmen and women should talk to their constituents who are starving for more train service as well as advocacy groupswho wantmore trains in their states but aren't relying on "America's Railroad."TIGER grants will be phased out in all likelihood. The currently negotiated TIGER VII grants will be the last funds the Obama Administration gives out to rail operators of all stripes.